Effect of photodegradation of lignocellulosic fibers transesterified with vegetable oil

This study presents the assessment of resistance of raw and vegetable oil treated transesterified lignocellulosic fibers (LCFs) such as jute, and sisal against photo-induced oxidation and subsequent hydrolysis reaction by subjecting them to alternate cycles of irradiation of ultraviolet light (UV) of wavelength between 300 to 400 nm and spray of deionized water in an artificial accelerated weathering (AAW) test chamber over a duration of 500 hours. The extent of UV and moisture induced degradation has been evaluated by measuring the residual tensile strength and water absorption before and after AAW. The results indicate that at the end of the 500 h of exposure transesterified LCFs retained about 53 to 60 % of its initial tensile strength, whereas the corresponding retention for raw fibers was only about 14 to 20 %. Average water absorption for transesterified LCFs was increased to about 100–110 % (by weight) following AAW from a pre-exposure value of about 65–80 %. The corresponding average increase for raw LCFs was 300 % from 220 %, respectively. Although both raw and transesterified LCFs exhibited susceptibility to oxidation and hydrolysis following AAW, the resulting impact was found to be more pronounced for raw fibers.